Toronto elementary school teachers to stage walkout on Tuesday

Elementary schoolteachers with the Toronto District School Board and the Peel Region board will stage a one-day walkout on Tuesday as part of a labour dispute with the province over Bill 115.

The Toronto board announced the walkout on its website Thursday. The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario has yet to confirm the walkouts will take place, but has said it will give 72 hours notice of such an event. An announcement is expected Saturday.

A one-day strike at the two largest boards in the province will shut more than 670 elementary schools and force parents to make other arrangements for the 282,500 students.

The news came on a tumultuous day for Ontario secondary schools, as hundreds of local high school students gathered at Queen’s Park Thursday afternoon to protest the labour war — a conflict that has put a halt to extra-curricular activities at both high schools and elementary schools throughout Ontario.

I’m not getting a lot of extra help after school and that’s something I really relied on for science a lot

Frequent chants of “kill Bill 115” echoed across the front lawn of Queen’s Park, as students argue that the Liberal government legislation is the source of the work-to-rule action by their teachers.

That action has forced the cancellation of various athletic programs, clubs and even the ability for students to receive extra help with their courses.

“I’m not getting a lot of extra help after school and that’s something I really relied on for science a lot,” said Tyler Amos, a Grade 10 student at Northern Secondary School.

Beginning just before 2 p.m., the protest was organized by students from the Etobicoke School of the Arts and led by Marco Lagrotta, a Grade 11 student at the school. Mr. Lagrotta put together the event on Facebook, encouraging students to join in from across the city. He said upwards of 80% of his schoolmates made it out to Queen’s Park.

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He added that the goal of the protest wasn’t to pick sides between the government and the teachers, but rather to raise awareness that it’s the students who are suffering most.

It’s a sentiment that seemed to be the dominant feeling amongst the students in attendance on a chilly afternoon in Toronto.

“Most affected most ignored,” read the sign that Mr. Amos brought with him to the protest, noting that he and his peers are “frustrated” with the ongoing issue.

Bill 115 — known as the Putting Students First Act — is doing exactly the opposite,
according to many at the protest who are quick to point out the irony in the name.

This is when we are supposed to have our fun in school, these are our memories and they’re being tarnished

“It’s sad because all of us are missing out,” said William Montgomery, a Grade 11 student at the Etobicoke School of the Arts. “This is when we are supposed to have our fun in school, these are our memories and they’re being tarnished.”

Many students said that some teachers genuinely enjoy extra-curricular activities, with Mr. Amos admitting that some were willing to “turn a blind eye” to the student protest.

The administrative staff, however, was not on the same page.

Eliot Rossi, also of Northern Secondary School, said they tried to stop students from going to the protest, threatening them with suspension and even implementing a lockdown procedure. He said approximately 20 students from the school managed to get out, while many others were “pulled back into class.”

In an email, TDSB spokesman Ryan Bird said suspensions were not threatened, and added that the lockdown students spoke of was actually a practice “Hold and Secure” procedure that was “planned months ago.”

We’re the foundation of this whole system

“It’s not coincidental at all,” Grade 9 student Jay Crafton said of the lockdown as his fellow schoolmates nodded in agreement.

“I think that what people are really missing here is that without the students, there’s no union, there’s no teachers, there’s no education because we’re the foundation of this whole system,” Mr. Crafton added.

In addition to imposing a two-year wage freeze, Bill 115 limits collective bargaining rights and sick days. It also gives the province power to prevent future strikes or lockouts.

If the two sides are unable to reach an agreement, it is possible that the work-to-rule action could drag on for as long as two years.